Cataracts and other pathologies in an ocular lens are in some cases addressed by removal of some or the entire ocular lens. An eyeball is surrounded by a cornea and a sclera. To access the ocular lens, a corneal incision is made in the cornea, exposing an anterior chamber of the eye. The anterior chamber of the eye is defined posteriorly by the cornea and anteriorly by the lens and the iris. The lens is surrounded by a capsule.
To access the interior of the lens, a capsular incision is made in the capsule to allow access to a capsular space within the capsule. A procedure called continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis may be applied to cut the capsular incision in the capsule. Material from a lens nucleus, where a cataract may form or other pathologies may manifest, may then be removed from the capsule through the capsular incision. The material in the lens, including the cataract, may be broken down, resulting in remnants of cataract and of lens material. The remnants include lens fibers and epithelial cells. The remnants may be removed from the capsular space through the capsular incision by irrigation aspiration or other approaches. A prosthetic lens may then be inserted into the capsular space to replace the material that was removed from the capsular space.
Greater clearing of the remnants from the capsular space is associated with reduced complications following a procedure. Complications may result in reduced vision, may tilt a lens implant, or may result in other problems (e.g. capsule opacification, fibrosis, etc.). It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved method for clearing the capsular space following a cataract removal or other ophthalmologic procedure.